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7.2.1: Capital Ship Chassis
The behavior of capital ships is much like that of modern warships. It is true that capital ships move through a three-dimensional medium and therefore some of the principles and terminologies of aircraft maneuvering apply, but for the most part the same tactics that apply to modern naval warfare apply to capital ships. Because of this, there is a need for various capital ships to perform many different tasks. A capital ship that is excellent at bombarding a planetary target will probably be far too slow to act as a pirate interdictor, while a good interdictor is probably too lightly defended to be reasonably survivable in a major battle. To facilitate these differing needs, there are a number of different chassis types available. Each chassis type affects several of a capital ship’s basic statistics. The following pieces of data on how the ship's statistics are affected are included in each description: *Overview: This gives an overview of the chassis type and describes its intended functions. *Weight: This lists a specific weight category of the chassis. Like vehicles, all capital ship chassis have seven variations of weight, from super light to super heavy. *Base Cost: This lists the cost in credits of a ship that uses the indicated chassis and weight class. Unlike vehicles, the cost listed here is the actual chassis cost; there is no cost modifier involved with capital ships. *Size Class Range: This gives the range of Size Classes available for a ship of the indicated chassis and weight category. There are several different game effects that occur based on a capital ship's Size Class (for example, ships that are Size Class Twenty or higher cannot enter planetary atmosphere). *Base HD Ratings: This lists the base hit difficulty ratings for a ship of the indicated chassis and weight category. As with characters and vehicles, this will help determine how hard it is to hit the ship with weaponry. If a weight class is indicated with more than one set of HD ratings, the designer should use the set corresponding with the selected Size Class as indicated in parentheses. *Number of Accessories: This indicated the number of slots a ship of the indicated chassis and weight category has for equipment, including specialized cargo pods, hangar bays, weapons mounts and the like. *Limitations: This final stat lists any limitations of a specific basic chassis type regardless of weight category selected. Limitations are listed as the maximum Classes of Shields or Engines, the maximum amount of Armor and/or the maximum amount of available Gun damage allowable without requiring adapter accessories to be included with the final design. All capital ships have an Ion Engine, Impulse Engine, Matter/Antimatter Reactor, two External Docking Port modules and a single FTL drive system (a D-Drive, Morvan Drive or an Akwende Drive) installed as part of the chassis (i.e. as "freebies"). Capital ships also use their own set of basic equipment, though they may use any piece of vehicle-scale equipment designed for use with space vehicles. Corvette Corvettes are very light capital ships that help fill the gap between bombers and destroyers. They are small ships with few crew members and usually sacrifice armor plating for raw speed, so they are not well-suited for heavy combat situations. On a positive note, they are among the fastest warships in existence, can expect to be victorious against fightercraft and are usually very inexpensive. They are best used as scout and patrol craft but are also good at light escort duties and in a pinch they can be called upon for surgical strike and zone defense missions. Their versatility makes them popular craft among navies. Limitations: Corvettes may not have Shields above Second Class installed or greater than 200 points of total Gun damage available without installing a Capship Systems Adapter. A Corvette may have up to six centimeters of armor installed without requiring a Reinforced Chassis accessory. Frigate Frigates are usually the smallest ships found in the order of battle in major fleet engagements, where they are used in what's probably their best role, escort duty. They are small warships, fast and maneuverable but usually not very well armed. They are slightly larger than Corvettes and can carry a little more in the way of internal bays, shields and offensive firepower. They are not usually as large as Destroyers although the heavier Frigate chassis are sometimes used on ships that are classed as Destroyers. Frigates can carry out precision raids and zone defense missions in a pinch. Most navies have a sizable number of Frigates. Limitations: Frigates may not have Shields above Fifth Class installed, Engines above Eighth Class installed, or greater than 400 total points of Gun damage available without installing a Capship Systems Adapter. A Frigate may have up to fifteen centimeters of armor installed without requiring the Reinforced Chassis accessory. Destroyer Destroyers are mid-range capital ships in terms of size, armament, speed and defense. Destroyers are usually very popular among navies because of their versatility; almost any type of capital ship can be built on a Destroyer hull. Some are powerful enough to conduct heavy combat missions with a reasonable chance of success, while others are light enough to make good patrol and interception craft. They are also quite economical; the balance between economy and versatility is the main reason why Destroyers make up the bulk of most navies. Limitations: Destroyers may not have Engines above Sixth Class installed, Shields above Seventh Class installed, or greater than 600 total points of Gun damage available without installing a Capship Systems Adapter. A Destroyer may have up to eighteen centimeters of armor installed without requiring the Reinforced Chassis accessory. Battlecruiser Battlecruisers are large warships capable of delivering significant firepower. They are designed to wield heavy weaponry and armor; naturally they have relatively poor performance characteristics and their cost is higher than other capital ships. Battlecruisers often make up the centerpiece of small fleets, serving as the command ship in many cases. In very large fleets, they are used as heavy strike craft against mission objectives. Battlecruisers tend to be expensive, so a government may only have two or three dozen of them active in peacetime. It’s usually these ships that determine the fate of worlds. Limitations: Battlecruisers may not have Engines above Fourth Class installed or greater than 800 total points of Gun damage available without installing a Capship Systems Adapter. Dreadnought Dreadnoughts are the heavy hitters of a fleet; all but a few of the most massive warships fit upon a Dreadnought chassis. They are huge vessels, carrying large complements of crew to handle their immense internal systems. Damage that would destroy a smaller capital ship usually doesn’t faze a Dreadnought much and their armament is usually formidable. Dreadnoughts pay for their firepower and defensibility with typically abysmal performance characteristics. Their expense usually limits their numbers such that most navies may have only two or three active Dreadnoughts (if any at all) during peacetime. Expense of operation limits the types of missions for which a Dreadnought is typically employed; they usually they will be deployed either in planetary defense or heavy strike missions. Fast heavy battlecruisers, mega-carriers and battleships can all be found utilizing the Dreadnought chassis. Limitations: Dreadnoughts may not have Engines above Third Class installed without installing a Capship Systems Adapter. Space Station Space Stations are space-borne installations whose main purpose is to act as a location where capital ships may go for safe haven and to act as administrative centers in space. Space Stations can perform many different functions, including shipbuilding, repair duties, orbital mining, processing of long-distance communications and so forth. Most starfaring races will have at least one Space Station orbiting their primary homeworld to act as a home port for capital ships. Like Dreadnoughts, though, the cost involved in keeping a Space Station in operation generally limits the number of stations any one race possesses to one or two at the most. While not a capital ship per se, the Space Station chassis can be used for unusually enormous craft; a very small number of capital ships utilize this type of chassis for no other reason than that no other type of chassis can handle their bulk. Limitations: Space Stations have one movement point regardless of the installed Engine Class. All Space Station equipment and accessories (but not pods) cost ten times the normal amount. All HD penalties for Armor are doubled and all HD bonuses for Engines are ignored; it is possible for a Space Station to have an HD value greater than 99. All shield and armor hit points are doubled. Space Stations have two additional External Docking Ports (for a total of four ports), the Carrier Systems accessory, and any single Hangar Bay Module of any type (designer's choice) installed as part of the chassis; none of them count against the station's total accessory count. ---- NEXT: 7.2.2 Capital Ship Systems and Equipment PREVIOUS: 7.2 Creating and Modifying Capital Ships TOP ---- Category:WCRPG